>>96069727
>You gain the service of a familiar, a spirit that takes an animal form you choose:
It's a spirit that takes the form of an animal, not a Celestial/Fey/Fiend taking the form of a animal. Effectively, the wizard is the one choosing what form it takes and its creature type, a Conjurer is just better at it so they can choose more options. Yeah, it doesn't really do anything mechanically but its flavorful! I've had players who'd love to have an Elemental or Dragon animal familiar- it's cool. Can't we do stuff for the vibes these days?